Erlanger tensions are 'troubling'
The reports of tension between the Erlanger board of trustees and the medical staff should be of concern to Chattanoogans.
Hospitals are complex organizations that require effective interaction between the three entities of the governing body (board), the medical staff, and the administration to function well and achieve quality patient care. Having worked as the chief medical officer at similar large teaching hospitals before retiring, I can attest that such a goal can be challenging but doable.
National hospital accrediting and physician specialty training organizations expect appropriate communication and interaction among the three entities. Finding that this is not the case can threaten the hospital's accreditation and its physician training programs' approval.
The recent unusual step of removal of the elected medical staff leader from the board for unclear reasons is troubling. Erlanger is too important as a regional resource to have its critical role jeopardized by communication difficulties within its family. A positive resolution will benefit all our community.
Gail V. Anderson Jr.
GOP: Reject Trump to broaden support
Many independent voters like myself who once voted Republican no longer have a choice.
President George W. Bush took this country into an unnecessary and unjustified war, the longest in our history without successful outcomes.
Donald Trump upon his loss in the election then created the " Big Lie," claiming that the election was stolen from him. To this day there has yet to be a shred of evidence to support Trump's claim.
Proof emerged that there was advanced planning with Trump's approval for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and further treasonous plans to overturn the election.
Until Republicans reject Trump, many independents will feel they have no choice in future elections.
John Bratton
Media should be more careful with language
I wish that the media would use proper language to describe events and not obfuscate occurrences with incorrect word use. News accounts of the firearm incident at the Atlanta Airport and the Alec Baldwin movie-set accident are recent glaring examples of this.
Guns do not "go off" by themselves. Guns cannot "discharge" unless someone is in contact with the trigger, actively "pulling" or rather, "squeezing" it. To indicate otherwise is false and misleading.
Words matter; please use them correctly.
Paul Mallchok
Cartoonist's work shows why debate impossible
I find a recent editorial cartoon by Clay Bennett to be insulting, demeaning and reprehensible.
Bearing the caption, "There is a cure for stupid!" that accompanies the image of a physician holding a prescription form that reads, "ELECT DEMOCRATS!" it is a pompous, disrespectful effort by your local editorial cartoonist to assert that anyone who doesn't drink the liberal Kool-Aid is "stupid." It's a fair guess that this is a slap in the face for at least half of your subscribers and readers.
As a professional journalist, I try to read the left and right sides of the op-ed section, assuming there's something to be learned from both. But this kind of juvenile posturing underscores why civil discourse and reasonable debate seem impossible anymore.
The arrogant assumption that one side has a monopoly on what's right and the other is all wrong is no way to promote unity and real solutions.
Robert Tamasy
Hixson